Basil Brave Heart – the warrior who had never killed a slave, the warrior who had never massacred women and children, the warrior who had never started a war – accepted a mission to take on the federal government.

To understand the problem that the Standing Rock Sioux is having with the construction of a pipeline that is being built just 500 feet from their reservation boundary, one has to understand the roots of the disagreement.

Somewhere up the downtown Rapid City sidewalk, over the tops of parked cars, and under the jut of business signs and storefront awnings, the sound of a gentle flute draws you to a barefoot man, dark hair drawn back tight in a braid from an intelligent, reflective Lakota face.